Zelda III: The Secret of Ganon
by Captain B
Summary: This is a fictional third chapter to the original Zelda series on the 8bit NES. Following a botched attempt by Zelda to hide the Triforce in his old homeland, Link now needs to recover it. However, Link also has some unfinished personal business here...
1. Chapter 0: Introduction

The Legend of Zelda, episode III:

The Secret of

**------------------**

GANON 

**------------------**

Chapter 0: introduction

night... a beautiful time of day, if you are gazing from shelter. Otherwise, your enemies use it against you. The Moblins have terrible eyesight and are always throwing their spears at trees they thought were the enemy... but Keese have sonar, and creatures like Goriyas and Lynels have night vision like a cat...

...then there's Link. Little Link. Most children his age would be fast asleep in bed. But not Link. He has no bed, and if he doesn't press forward, he won't have a bed. Two weeks ago, he lured several monsters away from an old woman that changed his life forever. Now, he's almost finished with the quest. In his hand lies a small golden trinket. It's the Triforce of wisdom, and though it doesn't look like much, collecting the pieces are parts of it have changed Link's inner character immensely. Where once he was afraid to step into the darkness, he now ventures with excitement, curiosity, and confidence. What is one more dark cavern to the boy who has conquered so many in such short time?

Link stepped inside the eyeglass-shaped hill atop Death Mountain, and was immediately met by white ivory walls. Link initially wondered where the ivory came from, then decided not to delve into gruesome details. He soon found why the dungeon was so ivory and white: Blood stains and shows up well upon it. Several rooms were covered in the blood splattered from mysterious bodies long gone.

...As Link entered every room, he braced himself for the worst... ...yet oddly enough, nothing ever came out or attacked him. It was as if he was the only one there.

...Then, of all the doorways in all the hallways of this white dungeon, there was finally a door that stood out amongst the others. Unlike the other doorways, whose contents were almost illuminated by their own bright white...

...This one was pitch black.

Link entered the room, knowing fully well what was about to happen. Before him appeared the murderous pig known as Ganon. He shouted and squealed and insulted Link with every move. It wasn't Ganon's actions that made Link uneasy however... it was his own... Ganon was hemorrhaging with some of the cuts Link made, but through it all, kept laughing as if there was nothing wrong. Link knew not to pass up an opportunity though, and delivered the final blow with the magic silver arrow...

Ganon continued to squeal that same stupid smile as he stood there dying. "Don't stop on my account", he squealed. "The pain YOU inflict feels great..."

Link stood there astounded and asked the glutton how that could be. To this, Ganon suddenly transformed. He was still hemorrhaging and coughing up blood, but now, Link was horrified to see himself where Ganon once was. He saw himself, bleeding, vomiting, and though in Link's voice, laughing that same laugh. Was this what Ganon meant by his words!? Was Link hurting himself?! Just as soon, the doppelganger exploded, leaving only a pile of Ash and the Triforce of Power. Link cautiously approached the Triforce of Power, uncertain what influence it would have on him...

...But as soon as he touched it, the floor around him gave way, and he plummeted into darkness, like a tar. Forever... ...and ever... ...and ever...


	2. Chapter 1: Welcome Home

Chapter 1: Welcome home 

...Link felt the darkness overcome him... everything he worked for eventually led to this: his own demise... he closed his eyes and began to accept what he once honestly thought couldn't destroy him anymore: The darkness...

...Then, something tapped him on the shoulder. "Sir... Sir?"

Link opened his eyes to see a lovely young lady in front of him, dressed in the uniform of a public agent: a blue cap with gold crest, blue suit with skirt, and gloves. Specifically, she was the ticket master.

"May I see your ticket, please?"

Link, finally realizing what was going on, reached inside his bag and pulled out a stub:

Name: Link

Destination: Riverside, Calatia

Time of purchase: 12:34 PM, 4/12/356

Time of departure: 9:20 AM, 4/20/356

Time of arrival: 11:30 AM, 4/21/356

The ticket master looked it over and smiled. "Mr. Link, is it? hmm..." The ticket master looked at Link and seemed to recognize the combination of the long drooping brown sideburns, green clothes, hat, and odd pointed bangs. "Excuse me sir, you're going to Calatia, right? You wouldn't happen to have lived there once... would you?"

Link spoke up. "As a matter of fact, I did... but it was only for about ten ye... wait... My god... Christine!?"

The ticket master's eyes lit up. "You remember me!" Christine gave Link a hug, which Link happily returned. "Wow, you've grown up so much... I've heard so much about what you've done since you left... You're pretty famous now, you know!"

Link passed off his celebrity status with a bit of a chuckle. Christine was an old childhood friend of Link's, from when he lived in the orphanage. She had grown into a beautiful young woman, but Link could still recognize her face.

"So, what have you been doing!? Everyone woke up one day, and you had just left! Where did you go?"

Link, a bit nervous, replied. "I heard, Christine. I heard about the murderer who killed my parents. They said he ran towards Hyrule, and I had to follow him. I never found him, but I found something better instead. I just sorta ran into somebody and learned about what was happening in Hyrule, so I changed my plans, and went in pursuit of the adventure."

Christine blinked. "That's it? You just sorta spontaneously ran into destiny? I have to admit, it isn't as glorious sounding as I had imagined... ...but it's good to see you again." To this, Link nodded.

"So..." Christine began, "Why are you going back to Calatia?" Link hesitated for a moment...

"Just a... ...diplomatic mission..."

In truth, Link was going to Calatia on business. There were two Zeldas in Hyrule now. One, which Link rescued as a child, was the acting Queen of the land, and the other, whom Link awoke from deep slumber a few years ago, was the adoptive "little sister". After much council and meeting, they agreed that Hyrule was the land chosen by the gods for the Triforce to reside in...

...And for that very reason, it shouldn't. To keep would be thieves from ever finding it in Hyrule, they agreed to keep it close at hand, but outside of Hyrule's border. And so, Zelda sent the Triforce deep inside three secret areas within Riverside, a bustling town in the neighboring country of Calatia.

...And Link was being sent to guard them.

"Well, in that case..." Christine continued, "Why don't you let me show you around when we arrive? My shift ends after this, and I know a lot of people who will be very surprised to see you..."

In less than an hour, the train pulled into Riverside station. After navigating the rather ornate yet mazelike structure of the train station, Link and Christine were on Main Street. Link found a lot of amusement in seeing people briefly glance at him, unsure of who he was or wondering if he was real. Most of them were people he'd never met before. Kids who looked up to him, but were never even alive yet when he'd lived here... He recognized a few shopkeepers who were very suprised to see him and waved happily, as well as some old neighbors... For the most part, town had changed a lot. The house his parents once lived in no longer stood: it was now a bustling inn. Link didn't mind, though. After all, this is where he would be staying.

At the end of the tour, Christine took Link to one more important place: Doc's garage. Doc was an inventor who patented the now famous shield machine. In the ten years since Link left, he's modified and patented the device to mass-produce shields of many materials, but his first shields produced were small oak shields... the very first of which he gave to Link as a present.

"Doc? You in here?" Link called out. The lab was a mess, but this was usually the case. Most great thinkers seem to be pretty messy and unorganized when it comes to rooms and walking space...

"Wait... wait... don't come in yet!" Immediately after this, a loud clanging noise, like several falling pots and pans, filled the room.

"I'm okay!!"

Link rushed into the room to see Doc surrounded by cans, his face covered in suite, and smoke everywhere "Just a little glitch in the system", Doc shrugged. Then he looked at whom he was talking to.

"Well, this is a suprise! Hello, Link!"

Doc was pretty much what one would expect from a kooky professor. Short, with white hair, moustache, and coat. Small lenses resting on his nose framed his eyes. Amusingly, he constantly needed to adjust them, such as in this case. "Link! Of all people, I didn't expect to see you again anytime soon! I see you've already said hello to Christine..."

Link managed a chuckle and helped Doc up. "So, what are you working on these days?"

Doc responded. "A special type of boomerang. Though safe to the thrower's hand, once thrown with decent force, it bursts into flames and burns. Then, as soon as it stops, the flames are gone and the boomerang is cold."

Link widened his eyes "A fire boomerang!?"

"Y..Yes", Doc responded. "However, I'm having a little trouble with the intensity. If you put too much of this special coating on the boomerang, it explodes in your face. I want it to be as safe to throw as possible."

Link seemed rather interested. Of all his regular implements, the boomerang was the fastest, most reusable, and most versatile projectile he had. Unfortunately, it rarely ever did more than render an enemy unconscious, and had absolutely no effect on strong metal armor or thick hide. This boomerang, however, was unlike anything Link had ever heard of, and delivered great promise as a possible weapon in the future.

"Link, why don't you and Christine catch up tonight? Go see a picture, walk around the merchant's temple... ...enjoy yourself!"

Link took Doc's advice and took Christine to see a rather popular picture called Super Mario Bros, about two plumbers who end up saving an entire kingdom. Afterwards, They walked around the merchant's temple, browsing around. Link took a minute to sit and rest, while Christine looked around…

…Then he saw something peculiar...

Amongst the crowd was a hooded figure, headed towards the hall of administration. Something told Link this was very wrong, so he followed the figure quietly for several minutes...

As she snuck past guards and other assorted security, so did Link. The unknown chase eventually led them into the basement of the temple, into a small closet, down a trap door in said closet, and into a secret catacomb, but they soon found a deep crevasse neither could cross...

"Confound it!" the figure shouted. "There's no way across..."

"Mind if I ask what you think you're doing?" said Link, who looked rather annoyed and had his arms crossed.

"Annoying boy!" shouted the figure, who removed her hood to reveal a young scantily clad

woman. Her hair was white as snow, with heavy eye shadow, black nails, and a heavy tan. "It only figures YOU'D be here!"

Link chuckled. "I'm surprised you knew what was down here! Still, it's obvious neither of us can go any further, so why don't you just give up and go back?"

The girl reached into her boot, but almost immediately after the concealed knife was exposed, Link pulled his magic sword and shot it out of her hand with a beam blast. "Please don't make me use force", Link said, with a bit of an amused smile on his face.

The woman growled, and quietly left the cave. Link followed her out, but as soon as she turned a corner, she was gone. "Figures", Link said to himself, and returned to the bench he was at before. "Wonder who she was? Ah well. She's a common thief. She won't tell anyone what's down there if she can have it all to hers..."

Link looked up to see a rather disappointed Christine. "Where HAVE you been!? I've been waiting half an hour for you!" Link was doing his job, but he couldn't tell Christine that. Now, he realized this job might be a bit more difficult than he imagined. For now, he just smiled to her and said "uh... bathroom?"

Christine shook her head. "You... come on, let's get going..."


	3. Chapter 2: New Orders

Chapter 2: New orders

A wave was sweeping across the fields... from the dry deserts, across mountains, forests, sea... they were coming... several woman. All with gold eye shadow, fire red hair, and, given their usual climate, baggy pants and exposed stomachs...

...The Gerudo. A proud race of desert thieves now nomads in an incredible journey to find a new home. About 300 years ago, at the start of the new age, Explorers ventured north of Death Mountain, and established a small settlement on a river. This settlement came to be known as Saria Town. After this, other towns began popping up, and almost all of Hyrule's population fled for these places. The living conditions were not what Hyrulians were used to, but evil air and superstition surrounded the Death Mountain area, and for the first time in what may be millions of years, Hyruleans were going to escape it and expand Hyrule's borders.

Within 15 years, the old land was all but abandoned, with several hermits and traveling merchants dotting the landscape. Some of these hermits even took up residence in the empty dungeons and temples. Dark, a bit cold, but nothing a few good fires couldn't take care of. Besides, they were rather spacious structures.

The Gerudo, however, were too stubborn to leave their old desert and follow. That was under the old king. Now, a different, more rational man, who believed the Gerudo must strengthen relations with the rest of Hyrule, and not sever them, led the girls.

This king meant well for the Gerudo, but always seemed lost in his work. If you did not understand Gerudo custom and tradition, you might feel apprehensive or even shocked upon hearing his name. After all, the words for "King of Evil" and "King of Thieves", for probably legitimate reasons, were very similar in the old Gerudo tongue.

As this tall figure in banded leather and tattered light robes passed the Mido settlement, he ordered his women to deploy the canoes and rafts they brought with them. As he stood there, with a demeanor that said he knew exactly what he was doing, ordinary people watched, astounded by the leadership and sense of direction he possessed.

"Everybody is ready to go," the lead Gerudo said to her king. "What do we do now...

...King Ganondorf?"

"...And so port Ganondorf was founded in his honor," the schoolteacher spoke. Suddenly the bell rang, and it was time for the children to go home. Foreign history was the last subject of the day, and kids were eager to enjoy the weekend and forget what they learned about a country they never planned to visit anyways. Ironically, one person who tried to learn as much as he could way back was there today, smiling and nodding.

"I see you back there, Mr. Link." the schoolteacher spoke. "You realize you have quite the outstanding record of absences?" Link gave her a look as to suggest she was crazy for considering him a student anymore. Then, she smiled and shook his hand.

"How are you doing, Link? Christine told me you had come back..."

"Rather well", Link nodded. The schoolhouse was one of the three hiding places, and Link was on duty under the guise of yet another friendly visit. "You know," he added, "They're just gonna forget everything they learn come Monday"...

"That's why I give out tests, Link. Besides, you always seemed to remember quite well."

"That's because I was planning a trip," he responded.

The Schoolteacher was an older woman with large red glasses and a sharp sense of humor. She was also quite knowledgeable of things happening in the neighborhood.

"Did you hear? The monks over in the cemetery to the east fled the monastery! Apparently, last night, several ghosts started haunting the place! But that's not the strangest part: The ghosts kept demanding the Triforce! Of all things! Who would be dumb enough to look for the Triforce in Calatia!?" To this, Link shifted his eyes.

"They weren't the only ones either! Apparently, people in the fields are being randomly attacked and questioned by moblins and goriyas alike! Isn't that strange?"

Link nodded, now rather worried, but still with his humor about him. "Want me to help?"

The teacher shifted her eyes. "If it isn't too much trouble, I suppose it would be appreciated".

Later that day, Link wrote the following:

----------------------------------TOP PRIORITY REPORT-----------------------------------

CONFIDENTIAL: THIS ENVELOPE IS TO BE OPENED ONLY THE PERSON IT IS ADDRESSED TO.

Recipient: Majesty Zelda Marie Hyrule, North Castle, Hyrule.

Sending Address: Link Stein, room 6, Octorok inn, Riverside, Calatia.

----------------------------------IMPORTANT REPORT------------------------------------

Triforce parts secure, but somehow, monsters and thieves have learned about the move, possibly through rumors, possibly through a felt presence. They have begun harassing individuals and attempting to find parts. Awaiting further orders.

Over the next few days, Link waited for a return letter while trying to reduce the growing number of attacks. This had a stressful impact on the hero, and he began sleeping more...

One night, Link had another dream. He was in his mother's arms. An infant. He looked up to see her kind face, then looked over to see his father... It was a familiar scene, one he now recalled occuring in real life...

...And then, he saw something else he also remembered, but until now had forgotten entirely. There in the corner was a third person. He was roughly Link's age today, and had long blond hair. He seemed rather upset and disgruntled. Until now, Link had entirely forgotten there was a third person in his household during his infancy, but now this knowledge all came back to him. The boy looked at Link, sneered, and suddenly Link woke up.

"There was... another person... living with us..." Link remembered for the first time since he was an infant... "Who was he, and why didn't anyone mention him?"

He found someone left a letter in the doorway. He quickly grabbed it and read:

----------------------------------TOP PRIORITY REPORT-----------------------------------

CONFIDENTIAL: THIS ENVELOPE IS TO BE OPENED ONLY BY THE PERSON IT IS ADDRESSED TO.

Recipient: Link Stein, room 6, Octorok inn, Riverside, Calatia.

Sending Address: Majesty Zelda Marie Hyrule, North Castle, Hyrule.

RE: IMPORTANT REPORT

----------------------------------NEW ORDERS------------------------------------

1: Gather the Triforces of Wisdom, Power, and Courage. Use stealth

2: Quietly return to Hyrule.

I will be waiting for you in Portside, south of Death Mountain Area.

YOUR MISSION IS TO REMAIN UNHEARD OF. STEALTH IS TOP PRIORITY.

Please complete your objectives as soon as possible.

Link nodded with the change of plans, and prepared for what seemed to be a new adventure. Still, Link had intentions of his own... like finding out who this other person was, why nobody told him, and most importantly, how and if this is related to the murder of his parents...


	4. Chapter 3: Crypt in the Fog

cue cute music

Hi! I'm Captain B! I'm sort of like a little pixie that will nag in your ear for the rest of the story.

Originally, this fanfic split at a point. For coughretardedforthiscase reasons, that chapter has been omitted. You won't miss much though, as basically it's the same as the longways ending, only with less stuff.

So, already you've noticed Hyrule has a jaded past, huh? Well I guess you already knew that, if you've been playing any of the games recently. But that's something, huh? Every Gerudo king is called Ganondorf, even if they mean well! And this wasn't very long ago from the time this story takes place!

So, what becomes of Ganondorf and the Gerudo? What about Link's past? Every chapter or so, the curtain of time gets pulled back just a little bit more for you, so you can see what happened to lead up to the original Legend of Zelda.

Well, I've harassed you enough for this chapter. I'll let you actually start Link's quest now!

Chapter 3: The Crypt in the fog

Link remembered the predicament he faced before with the thief. It wasn't a big deal when he merely had to protect it, but those weren't his orders anymore. He had to somehow get across the black chasm to reach the Triforce of Courage. Link considered going back just to recheck how far across it was, but decided against it. Too many prying eyes during the day, and there's still Wisdom and Power worth looking for elsewhere.

Link decided to ask Christine if she could make a special deal...

"What!? You wanna take a walk in the tunnels!?"

Link nodded.

Christine sighed. "I'm sorry Link... I can't let people who aren't railroad service to just explore the tracks. They get dark and narrow, and if a train comes through, splat! "

Link shook his head "actually, I was wondering if I could just go into the old abandoned tunnels..."

"Why? What's to see in them? Link, you've been acting rather oddly... is something wrong?"

Link shook his head. "Nothing... I just..." he tried to think of something...

Christine finished for him "There's a service elevator that takes you to the old station. However, you should know that there was a bit of an earthquake here 50 years ago, and most of the old tunnels are blocked by a rockslide anyways. You'd need something strong to clear the rocks... we can't risk using bombs."

Link cursed under his breath, yet another fragment out of reach. So, he walked over to the schoolhouse to see if he could get in there. Link was relieved to find that nothing was blocked off, but he couldn't find any secret places or tunnels anywhere.

Frustrated, he paid a visit to Doc.

"It's a large chasm? Doesn't sound like you can make a bridge..." Link shook his head. "Is there anything that could be used to cross something like that?"

Doc adjusted his glasses "Well... let me take a look..." Doc searched through a library of books until he found a passage about one of the monks in the (now) haunted cemetery, who invented some sort of device for pulling users through the air. "Talk to the monks about it," Doc ended. "Hope you have a raft."

Link had to buy a raft at the merchant's temple, and for quite more than he would have liked. His one fear if any these days was to be lead into buying something he'd never need or would only use once. In any case, it was a sturdy type of raft, famous and often recommended by friends to friends, not that it mattered much to Link, so long as he can get across the river to the monastery. Lugging the row of logs on his back, he left town.

Octorocs had grown hostile outside town, and fighting them was difficult with the raft on Link's back, so he set it down for a minute to scare the nuisances away. Then shoved the raft out to shore and crossed the thin but rapid river. On the other side was a short field not unlike that which he encountered just outside town. However, this field was the base of a tall and cloudy hill. On this hill sat the monastery.

Following a rather long hike up the hill (thankfully, he tied up his raft back on the riverside, instead of bringing it with him), Link found the monastery. He knocked on the door of the cold foggy building, but nobody answered.

"Someone! Anyone, open this door!" No response. The door was locked, and the lights were all out.

"Hmm..."

Link took a look around the foggy old building, and saw several headstones. No doubt, the entrance to the cemetery. Since nobody was answering inside, Link decided to use his head. After all, this was another quest, and there was no reason to hold back looking for secrets. So, he started pushing on them, to see if any were loose. Needless to say, most of them were firmly planted in the ground. Just as Link expected, however, one of the headstones was a false grave, and opened to reveal stairs instead.

"I swear, every cemetery has one somewhere", Link said to himself.

Link followed the rather lineal tunnel under the grave until he came upon a door over his head. he opened the door and peeked out into the new surroundings from his hole in the floor. He was now in the dining hall of the monastery. "Alright, that did it", Link whispered, and began searching for the study.

In the study, he located a book on hooks and chains and metallurgy. As he flipped through, one of the pages caught his eye. He turned back to it and found a piece of paper stuffed inside. It was blueprints to some sort of grappling gun. Link wasn't very good at reading blueprints though, and was about to put them back when he saw something else on the back.

"My invention is complete, but I must take good care of it! Anyone brave enough to venture into the crypt...

...You deserve it.

-Brother Dampe'- "

Link never seemed to mind having to travel on foot. What really annoyed him though was having no idea what to do next. This was almost the case, had he not seen the message on the back of the paper. Now, he simply wanted to go to the crypt. Back in the tunnel though, a ghastly apparition met him.

"...Where have you put the Triforce of Courage?", the ghoul asked of Link. Link had seen and dealt with ghosts before, so he casually ignored the annoying apparition.

"...You would ignore a very real apparition as a casual annoyance?", the ghost called. "You DO KNOW where it is! Admit it!"

The ghost had a point. Link was pretty much representative of courage, and by failing to express fear and intimidation, was caught red handed.

"Tell me where the Triforce of Courage is!" the ghost demanded. Link looked around, and was soon surrounded by ghinis. "No time to find the head ghini", Link muttered, and he ran out of the crypt, resealing the way behind him.

The search for a piece of stone much larger than all the others in a cemetery would have been easy as pie, were it not for the constant fog surrounding the place. Thankfully, Link soon found exactly what he was looking for: an underworld entrance, much like the many he encountered in the fields and woods of Death Mountain valley as a child. Walking inside, he began the first dungeon.

The crypt was rather short and linear, but filled with the stench of rotting corpses and odd moans that could only be the undead.

"Gibdos" Link muttered. Link remembered encountering gibdos in his first adventure. They were slow and stumbled about, but were super strong and took an incredible amount of effort to incapacitate. Link reached for his Magic Sword. The Magic Sword could shoot beams, but only if Link could apply the necessary force into his thrusts and stabs. If Link was injured too much, these beams were impossible to fire. Plus, while gibdos took several beam shots, a close melee attack was far too dangerous. "I hate gibdos," Link confirmed. Usually, he just fired beams at them to push them back, and rarely bothered trying to defeat them, unless armed with a strong weapon. So wherever he saw glowing red eyes in the darkness, he fired beams to push them back.

Link came into a large chamber and the door locked behind him. "You came for the treasure, didn't you? You're gonna go under the mall, aren't you? We're gonna take the Triforce of Courage right out of your heart!"

Link didn't have time to explain he didn't even have the Triforce of courage with him, and several ghinis began spinning around him. Link started beaming random ghinis, but his shots had no effect: none of them were the head. So, he stopped and watched the ghinis circle him for a bit until he spotted one that moved different from the others. a bright green light shot from his sword and nailed the apparition in the face. The other ghinis disappeared, and the real one was exposed. Link finished the job with a vertical air slash, and several random forceful cuts. The apparition disappeared, and a large chest was now sitting in the middle of the room. Link opened it up to find a rather odd handheld object, with a chain wrapped around it, and a sharp hook at the business end. Link took another look at the blueprints, and found the name of the device. "Hookshot".

Link left the crypt, half expecting the weather to have cleared outside. It was still as foggy as ever though, and was soon starting to rain. Thankfully, Link didn't plan on staying on this hill much longer. He quickly returned to the field, untied his raft, and sailed back across.

He'd be using his new implement to explore the caves underneath the merchant's temple, but first, he'd wait until midnight. The last thing he needed was to jeopardize the mission with prying eyes, so he decided to get some rest for now.


	5. Chapter 4: The Triforce of Courage

_Not a particularly glorious start, with the rain and the muck. Did I mention that the undead SMELL?_

_Ah well. I guess this is the first time our old friend has seen this device. Sure it isn't the first of its kind, but at least now he finally has a hookshot to call his own. He can walk it, dress it, call it cute names, even sleep with it _

…_well I would. _

…_uh, hey! Let's see what King Ganondorf is up to!_

The Gerudo wave sailed the great river like an armada. At the head was King Ganondorf himself, pointing straight toward a small shore. Obviously, this was where they would be landing. As an event in history, the Great Gerudo Migration was not lost in the depths of history, as it only happened about 40 years ago. The true miracle was the advancement of the area into a civilization. Within a few months, a traveling group of nomads turned a shore into a bustling dock, and an entire town grew on a hill. The Gerudos named this temporary colony after the ancient sage of spirit. After packing up and leaving, King Ganondorf entrusted this spot to the Hyrulians of Darunia to the North. "Let this crossroads town be a point of hospitality to all travelers and warriors alike", King Ganondorf told them. "I sense a hero will need it."

Nabooru town way by no means the last stop of the Great Gerudo Migration. Only one of the most important. As Link left the inn that night, he thought about his initial quest for the Triforce of Courage only a few years ago. Nabooru was one of the many towns he visited back then.

Night... ...a beautiful time of day, if you are watching from shelter... otherwise, your enemies use it against you... These words of wisdom were very familiar to Link, but not quite complete. Friends too can use the darkness, and use it well. Don't fear it, embrace it. Embrace it Link did.

Through a rooftop entrance, Link used his new toy to hoist himself down to the ground, quiet as a mouse. Lantern beams illuminated the innards all over, but Link was well trained in avoiding them. In the hall of administration, someone saw him, and ran down the hallway, but Link knocked him out with a boomerang and dragged him up against the wall. "You were a lazy sleeper, and I was a dream." Link whispered. His cover was secure.

In the basement, much more activity occurred at night. It was almost impossible to navigate the hallways, so he found an airshaft and crawled through that instead. Remembering the closet number, Link quickly ran inside and closed the door behind him.

Link was a bit irritated to find that someone placed a large box over the trap door. Link began pushing the box out of the way, a difficult process especially in such close corners.

...Then, he heard voices. "Do you know where the replacement wicks are?"

"Yeah, they're in the closet. I'll go get them."

Link had to work fast. With all of his strength, he pushed the box up against the wall and quickly opened the door. When the Merchant Temple staff opened the closet door, there was only the box. Link was already gone.

Returning to the catacomb, Link found the chasm, and a large stalactite to grab. Link aimed and fired, quite pleased with the results. "You are a handy device", Link whispered, and swung himself into the gap. His feet landed on the far wall, and he slowly retracted the hookshot, pulling himself and walking up the wall. At the other side, he yanked the hook out and the gun quickly retracted its chain. "Let's see if you can help me find what I'm looking for."

Link expected to find some rather unnatural features in this cave. After all, someone had a trap door leading down here. It didn't take long before he found what looked like old walls and old basement. The area was in disrepair, and riddled with large holes. One false step and his dream on the train would be a reality.

Link was disappointed to find that someone long ago locked the far door of the hallway, so he turned around to look in some of the other "rooms". The place must have been built around the turn of the century, and buried after the earthquake. Several keese, zols, ropes, and other assorted creatures inhabited the ruins as well, and didn't take well to Link's intrusion. In fact, they seemed to be guarding the Triforce of Courage. Thankfully, unlike the gibdos, Link could easily "zap" them with a single sword beam each. The bodies of Zols and keese, however, carried no monetary worth to any hide traders, nor did they offer any nutrients if eaten: in fact, Keese and Zol were rather filthy disgusting beasts in the wild. If someone were to eat one, it would do more harm than good.

Speaking of disgust, this is exactly how Link felt when he came into a room with a large pile of slimy black zol. At first, he considered turning around, but then remembered that these blobs were quite combustible. He set the mass on fire, and rather quickly, all that was left was a shining gold object: a key!

Link returned to the end of the hall, eager to escape the annoying keese, which appeared from nowhere to harass him. On the other side of the door, he saw something even worse.

A large room, most of the floor was gone or crumbling. Several paths lay ahead of him, and he explored every single one of them. One of the paths led him to a restroom with a rather dirty magazine inside. The other path locked him in a room and pitted him against a moldorm! Once Link had destroyed the creature, the door unlocked and he was free to move forward.

When Link reached a large hallway of statues, he knew the end was near. However, what he hoped to find was nowhere to be found. So he sat there for a few minutes, pondering his bearings...

That's when all hell broke loose: A Gleeok had burst through the wall. Link didn't particulary like these creatures, because they usually had more than one head, and if he cut one off, it would continue to live, only it would burn like a fireball and shoot fireballs too.

The heads moved very fast, but the body was slow. So Link jumped on the creature's leg and climbed up the body, until he could start hacking away at the neck. Link got thrown off, but only one head was left, and Link destroyed it with one zap. The body slumped over, and hit the ground with a loud crash. from the room the Gleeok was in, a bright yellow light poured out. Link investigated the source of the light, and was pleased to find a familiar relic.

The Triforce of Courage. A third of Link's quest was now over.


	6. Chapter 5: Something in the Mountains

_Who hides an old cavern underneath a mall? Whoever it is, he's a friggin genius. I swear, those places remind me of Super Metroid for some reason… Just imagine how much trouble Link would be in if they found out what was going on. Heck, imagine how much trouble ZELDA would be in if they knew she put the Triforce here! This isn't the first time these princesses have made mistakes though, and Link is ready to help cover for her. Bless his heart… _

The Great Gerudo Migration continued far south of the Nabooru settlement into the final destination: Three-eye rock. The Three-eye rock area was home to an old temple long ago constructed to the sage of spirit. This temple, hidden under the sand, was also the adoptive palace of King Ganondorf. Several Gerudo however had grown tired of the desert, however, and one day asked if they could set up a town somewhere a little greener: after all, there was no one around for several miles, so they had the surrounding woods to themselves. Ganondorf hesitated upon this, but eventually agreed with the construction of a small town near the woods to the Far West of Three-eye rock. This town was named for Ganondorf's second in command, who also was the woman who suggested the town. Her name was Kasuto.

The forest town was not the dry settings Ganondorf was used to, but he didn't seem to mind, so long as the Gerudo were happy. What did bother him was that during the migration, many Gerudos picked up a few husbands. As king, he often was the minister in these short weddings and on more than one occasion considered questioning their consistency with Gerudo tradition... However, Ganondorf had always felt a bit disconnected from the Gerudo as a people and refrained from asking about it. After all, they seemed happy... most of them anyway...

Kasuto's sister, Nairobi, watched King Ganondorf with disgust that only he himself might have understood. The Gerudo had become soft after so long... they were no longer the vicious plundering thieves of old, just some distant desert amazons... ...but wait, they weren't even THAT anymore... look at them, bringing men other than King Ganondorf into the tribe.

Pathetic.

"The true king would never stand for this," Nairobi said." She wouldn't dare say anything to King Ganondorf about it, but she would find a way to get rid of him...

...Isn't that right, Jeremy?

JEREMY!

Jeremy snapped out of subconscious almost instantaneously, shouting several random answers to math problems, hoping to look like he was paying attention.

"You're in foreign history, Jeremy. We're studying recent Hyrule, remember?"

Jeremy nodded, "Of course, I remember!"

The teacher (and Link) looked at him with interest "Alright then... how many years has it been since the founding of Kasuto colony?"

Jeremy looked a bit unsure, but soon confidently answered "Kasuto colony was founded by the Gerudo, so it is about 207 years old", with a smile.

Link's jaw dropped for a minute, and the teacher adjusted her glasses "Jeremy..." she began, "Kasuto was founded 40 years ago... The Gerudo hadn't even migrated 207 years ago"

The entire class burst into laughter, and Jeremy was thoroughly embarrassed, but saved by the bell, no longer to be picked on by the teacher, but his peers instead.

"So... 207 years ago... wow, time sure flies," Link said sarcastically.

"Link, I sense you aren't here to make fun of the class", the teacher remarked. "What can I help you with?"

Last night had been rather rough on Link. His confidential mission constantly threatened into becoming a news story of a diplomat and hero turned burglar and criminal. Was it worth it though? It seems so...

"Heard anything new about the monastery?" Link asked.

"Actually, as a matter of fact, the strangest news! Overnight, the fog cleared, and the souls of the departed resumed their rest. It's like they never awoke..."

"And the monks?"

"The monks have returned to the monastery, equally puzzled. I guess the ghosts finally realized the Triforce wasn't here, and gave up. It's quite a relief, though...

...Just wish the same could be said about the village in the mountains..."

Link seemed interested.

"Ever since you arrived, Natural disasters have been plaguing that village. Unusually cold temperature, snowstorms, blizzards... I hope the people there are okay..."

Link had a pretty good idea what was going on: The presence of the Triforce in Calatia was causing some rather unusual occurrences, and it seemed as though Link wasn't the only person seeking tools to access the fragments... He didn't need Doc to tell him that whatever he needed to get the next Triforce was probably in that village. Besides, it doesn't look like the fire boomerang will be ready in time for the snowy village...

Link followed a path in the woods west of town, and was soon met with two paths to travel. First, he continued west, but soon found himself disoriented and ending up where he started. A common and bizarre phenomenon in the woods. So for now, Link took the north path... soon, the air started getting cold... Link was in the high mountains...

Link stopped for a minute to bundle himself up in warmer clothing, and continued on his path. It wasn't long before he encountered snow, and it became difficult to tell where on the horizon the land ended and the sky began. Link closed his eyes and followed by touching the rock walls of the path. After all, continuing to stare at the rather camouflaged road would only result in snow blindness.

Link pulled forward, though the snow was getting deeper and deeper. It became difficult to walk in, and started swallowing him up to his thighs. He pulled forward though, not intent on becoming a casualty to nature.

He kept walking... walking... his ears were so red, the now resembled ruby arrowheads. He didn't pay much attention though. All he cared about for right now was finding shelter... ...but he found something else...

Link stumbled down a hill and tried to pull himself to his feet... but as he was doing this, he noticed someone... A young man with rather long blond hair blowing in the wind was looking right at him. Link recognized him as the third person from his dream. "Do you need help?" The boy asked. Link hesitated, unsure of his intentions.

"N...No. I just lost my balance..."

"Sir, if you don't get into shelter soon, you'll die of hypothermia," the boy said. "This is no time to mask needs with pride. Let me help you to your feet..."

"...Who are you?" Link asked. "Do you remember me?"

"Remember you? Sir, I've never met you before in my life!"

The boy came closer and transformed into a dark-haired girl in a parka. Link realized that he had apparently been out in the cold a little too long, and that this wasn't the blond boy. In any case, now that he was in good hands, he decided to pass out.

Link slept soundly in his crib... no one could hurt him here: he was safe with his mother and father... ...then he saw something in the dark, and started to cry. His mother came to his aid and reassured him nothing was there...

...But something was...

"Hello," a shadowy figure shouted.

"You! What do you want from us?"

" It's too late for what I want. Give me the baby."

Link's mother refused to hand him over and the shadow became very angry. Link's father attempted to help, and actually engaged the figure in combat...

...but quickly lost, and was soon a corpse sitting in a pool of his own blood.

When he returned his attention to the mother, Link was no longer with her.

"Where is he? What did you do with him? I swear, if you don't tell me..."

Link's mother stood up. "You'll never find him now... he's safe."

"That's more than I can say for you, wench."

Link watched from a hiding place as the figure stabbed his mother through the chest, ending her screaming and torture. The figure remained there, looming over her body for a few moments before resuming his search for Link. No matter where he looked though, he couldn't seem to find Link. Then, there was a loud banging at the door: someone heard the screaming and had come to help. Unable to find the infant, the figure left without him.

Another familiar scene to Link, but this was the first time he ever recalled it through a dream. By the time the townspeople found Link, the murderer had long fled the scene, but not without a few eyewitnesses who saw his direction...

...Hyrule.

Link woke up in a cavern, most of his warm clothing removed. "W...w... why is my coat gone?"

"Your body needs to adjust moderately", someone over him spoke. "In your current condition, if you sweat even a little, you'll be frozen solid."

Link's current accommodations were indeed warmer than outside. A bright warm fire nearby lit the cavern and provided him a gradual raise in temperature. He'd have to rest though. Link looked around the small room: His coat, tunic, Magic sword, Magic shield, and implements were hanging in a bag on the wall. He was left in just his brown tights. Standing over him was the Eskimo girl from before.

"Where am I?" Link asked. "Am I still on the mountain?"

"Yes. This is still Snowtip", the Eskimo told him. "We usually would reside in cabins in the village to the north, but unusually strong winds and cold temperatures have recently forced us into these caverns...

Link nodded eager to get to work, but exhausted and still cold for the moment. He didn't particularly like the cold, and would often be accused of overdressing for the temperature. Once, a light snow had fallen outside North Castle, and Link felt the need to make his daily commute wearing 3 layers, boots, gloves, hood, his usual cap, and a thick wool veil covering his mouth and nose. The younger Princess Zelda got a pretty good laugh out of this, and when Link returned that day covered in sweat, with half of his clothes bundled in his arms, she just stared at him with her arms crossed, amused.

"She doesn't understand," Link muttered. "I. Hate. The cold."

"Who doesn't understand?", the Eskimo girl spoke. Link had forgotten she was here.

Link hesitated for a minute. "Princess Zelda," he told her. "Whenever we get weather like this, I always take precautions to bundle up too much, and she makes fun of me for it... I didn't want to overdo it this time, and look what happened..."

"Princess Zelda?! Then you must be..."

Link smiled and finished for her. "Yup. Link. But what's your name?"

The Eskimo girl smiled. "Nora. My father is the chief of the village. Oh! Wait until I tell him you are here!"

Link spent the entire day in relatively peaceful rest. When he was ready, he awoke and re-equipped himself, though a bit uncomfortable. He didn't particularly want to draw so much attention to himself given circumstances. The chief was indeed overjoyed to see him, but when he asked what Link was doing here, Link was at a loss for excuses...

"Wait," the chief said. "Don't tell me... ...you heard about our predicament and came to help us!"

Link smiled and nodded "uh, yeah!"

"This is a blessing indeed! Link, the great hero of Hyrule, has come all the way to Calatia's Snowtip Mountain to save us, the Eskimo!"

Link nervously smiled and waved at the sudden applause, then sat back down to ask about something that had been bugging him: He noticed a small fire in his "room" earlier, but hardly anywhere else. "Chief, If you don't mind me asking... there isn't much fire here... are you having trouble collecting wood?"

The chief nodded. "After we fled to the caves, we made fires wherever they were needed. We didn't think we would be stuck in here for so long... but now, we are running short. We can't gather more wood because furry monsters are hoarding it in a fortress to the west... Link, I don't know how far it is from here... but please, don't go alone."

Once the blizzard had died down a little, Link went with Nora to try and find the fortress. "Try to hide behind rocks when storms come", Nora told Link. "If you're lucky, you'll find a cave. If you're REALLY lucky, it won't have a bear in it."

Link nodded and waited behind a rock when the storm picked up again. Then, together, they resumed the trek towards the fortress.

At some point during an ascent, the wind stopped altogether. "That's odd", Nora said. "Still, it's easier on the both of us." The snow still camouflaged with the overcast sky though, and it was almost impossible to see.

"Wait", Link said. "I think I see rock." Indeed, something black in the sea of white. Link and Nora carefully walked out towards the object, and found that it wasn't rock. It was stone. Link and Nora, tired of the cold, quickly stepped inside.

Link gestured to remain silent, as he spied three goriyas complaining about something in a hallway...

"What do we need the fraggin firewood for anyway?"

"Dunno, boss just said to gather it all up. Something about a tower."

"A tower out of firewood? What for?"

"All I know is it involves some guy and a bunch of shapes."

"What shapes? Like circles and Triangles?"

"Yeah! Triangles! That's what it was! Three shiny Triangles."

Nora looked at Link. "What shiny Triangles? They don't mean what I think they do, do they?"

Link blinked his hypothesis that someone up here wants the Triforce proven. He still had to tell Nora something though. "They're not bright creatures, Nora. Like they care where the Triforce is supposed to live?"

"But Link... what about the firewood?"

Link turned to look at her. "I'll handle that. You just stay here."

Link followed one of the goriyas when he was alone and held him at swordpoint until they reached a room.

"Now..." Link asked of him. "What's this about a tower of firewood and the Triforce?"

The goriya looked at him with fear and loathing. "H--h-h-h-h-h-h-hey, buddy! I don't know!!! Boss said something about..."

"WHO'S "BOSS"?", Link shouted quite ferociously. The frightened Goriya pointed down a hallway towards a door. "You stay here.", he told the sniveling rat.

"It-it-it won't matter!! By now, they've already called in the m-m-m-moblins!"

Link ignored the rat and casually walked down the hall, kicking the door open, in no mood to look for a key. The door didn't budge, and Link only injured himself. To add salt to the self-inflicted wounds, Link turned the knob to find that the door was unlocked the whole time.

Link hopped into a spacious room with a rather large fire in one corner, and a figure in a large chair, faced away from him. "You... sshhhhh... have a lot of... shhhhhh... nerve... shhhhh... pal! Shhh..." He told the figure, still hopping up and down.

The chair spun around to reveal the woman Link met under the mall before. "Miss me, Link?"

Obviously, he hadn't. "Why are you hoarding all the firewood?"

She gave Link a glossy-lipped grin. "To bring you here, sugar. Besides, I have a ritual to complete."

Link shouted at her. "What ritual!?"

She smiled back at him. "The return of the king, of course."

Link stared at her for a few seconds, then started laughing. "Oh, I get it! I get it! Very cute", he said with a smile. "You're Nairobi, and this is all some crazy plot to kill me and revive Ganon, isn't it?"

Nairobi smirked. "Close, Link. So, very close, but wrong. I don't need to kill you. In fact, I plan on letting you both walk right out of here." She snapped a finger, and two moblins carried Nora into the room and threw her on the floor.

"Then what's the point? Why are you doing all this!? Do you realize what THEY have been going through? They'll die without that wood, Nairobi. You're going to kill them just so you MIGHT have... ...oh hell, what am I saying?! Of course you would... can't resist that Triforce charm, can you? Well bad news, lady. You can't have both Ganon AND the Triforce. He'll take it from you, and if you don't let him, he'll kill you. Just like you're killing these Eskimos. "

More than anything, Link did NOT WANT GANON TO COME BACK, and for the most part, that would be physically impossible for Ganon to do, since Link killed him...

...But there is a way, and Link knew it.

Of course, it was the spell Impa warned Link about before his second adventure. By now, everyone knew why Ganon's soldiers wanted Link so bad, as it could apparently revive Ganon. Spells like this had been attempted before, but only resulted in the hordes of Gibdo that now roam the underworld.

"It will never work," Link told her. "Surely you can understand that!"

"Normally, you'd be right, Link," she told him. "But what you don't know is that the Triforce can completely undo his death. Restore him in mind, body, and spirit... everything. I'm not taking it for myself. I'm taking it for my king."

Link sneered, at this point not caring what Nora did or didn't hear. "You're a nutcase. Get to the part where you apparently don't have to kill me."

She smiled "Oh, that's the best part!" Until just a few weeks ago, everyone thought you had to kill the killer for it to work, but the text didn't say that..." she pulled out a rather large book, with arcane letters. "When the blood of the murderer is sprinkled on the ashes of the fallen, they will rise again." Nowhere in there does it say you have to kill them!

Now, Link turned pale white. A random moblin, goriya, or other soldier would only need a sample of his blood in order for it to work.

Link and Nora were quickly detained, and a small needle began inching towards Link's arm. There was nothing Link could do now, but wince as the needle pierced his flesh and extracted his blood.

"Thank you so much, Mr. Link," Nairobi smiled. "You and your friend can go home now."

Link growled "Not without the firewood." Wrong words, as they were both escorted out.

"Link, what do we do?" Nora asked him, not sure what to make of the previous conversation.

"Don't worry," Link told her. "First of all Nora, you have to promise me you won't tell anyone what you heard in there. As a matter of fact, let's just pretend you were unconscious the whole time." Nora didn't quite understand, but promised Link she would never tell anyone what she heard. "Second," Link added, "follow me."

The fortress was constructed entirely by underling hands and design. Large gates in the back kept the tower well guarded, but under some dumb guards. They hadn't inspected the structural integrity of the wall, and a single bomb created a hole large enough to carry several logs out at once.

"Help me roll these down the hill! Fast!" Link collapsed the tower by pulling out a log, and rolled it back down the hill towards the caves. When Nairobi composed herself and realized what was going on, she was furious. To keep her from troubling the village anymore, he lobbed several of his remaining bombs all over the fortress and ran screaming out of it.

Following a thunderous noise and a fireball seen all over Calatia, the fortress was covered in an avalanche. Link was in the caverns, laughing and partying with the Chief.

Then the chief got up. "Link, allow me to express my gratitude with a gift." He pulled out a beautiful silver hammer, meant to be held with two hands. "This mighty hammer is what we use to clear rockslides. I want you to have it."

Link smiled and thanked the chief wholeheartedly. This was just the thing he needed to clear the rockslide in the tunnels. After a warm Eskimo hug from Nora and a hearty salute from her father, Link headed back down the mountain, with Nairobi's plans foiled, a new tool in his hands, and a newfound respect for the cold.


	7. Chapter 6: The Triforce of Power

Link is hiding in the restroom of the train station, waiting for his second serious dungeon.. We'll get to that later though. Check out what became of the benevolent King Ganondorf.

Chapter 6: The Triforce of Power

Dark days surrounded Kasuto town. Normally, the Gerudo would be hunting or gathering in the fields, or trying to raise a family... but not today. Last night, King Ganondorf never left his throne room. When guards finally decided to check on him, he was slumped over, with a knife in his chest.

More than the shock and horror surrounding this day came the question of how it happened. News spread all over Hyrule, and soon everyone was asking how it happened. Was it suicide? Was he murdered? Although it was eventually determined that Ganondorf didn't do this to himself, just who did commit this crime remained a mystery.

However, connections and suspicions arose that in the name of legitimacy couldn't honestly be followed. Basically, about a month after the murder, a teenage boy wandered into Kasuto town. At first he was apprehended and locked up, but after consulting prophecy, something shocking was found. Normally, a new king would be prophesized for the Gerudo every 100 years, but the prophecy also called for replacements should unusual circumstances arise (IE: murder).

Nobody knows where the boy came from or why he journeyed to Kasuto, but one thing was for sure: He was meant to come to this town to be appointed their new king.

In the words of Kasuto herself, "Long live the new King Ganondorf."

He didn't think like the old King Ganondorf, much to Nairobi's delight. He was absolutely disgusted by the actions of the Gerudo, such as the marriages and the cultural fusion with a male populace. They impurified the race, and he would have them reprimanded for it, with their lives if they must.

"Women of the Gerudo..." he began, "I have seen the impurity you have brought upon this race with great disgust. You have ignored and broken the most sacred of our ancient laws, and greatly offended me."

"I see no punishment more fitting than death for the unfaithful."

Ganondorf had banished every nonvirgin or married Gerudo out of Kasuto town, threatening death for anyone that stayed behind.

"As for the rest of you", Ganondorf continued, "You have done well to remain faithful to the Gerudo code. You may continue to live in this town that Kasuto and your old leader have blessed you with.

The remaining Gerudo were extremely grateful of the new leader's mercy, but the banished were furious. That didn't matter anymore, though. They weren't Gerudo anymore, and would set up their town somewhere, somewhere they would never be found...

Nightfall. The Train station was now closed, and completely empty. From out of a restroom came Link. During the day, the Train station was bright and bustling, but at night, it was a cold, dark, and eerie place. Link also wasn't quite familiar with the layout, and found the station a bit difficult to navigate. Going deep inside, he found quite a few catacombs that he never had to take an elevator to reach. He eventually decided they were dead ends, and returned to the lobby. "I wish she'd have told me where this elevator is", Link muttered. He found a directory, but it didn't point to the service elevator. It did however point to a room with many normal elevators. Link decided to go to that room and look. There was no service elevator, so Link checked the normal ones. One of them had a "service floor" button. Link pressed it, and descended into a cavern of rock and chain.

Link thought he had seen creepy until he was down in the old tunnels. One couldn't possibly find their way without the help of a candle. Link carried his candle and traveled down one path... eventually, the track abruptly ended with a deep dark abyss. Link turned around and headed back.

It's been mentioned before, but Link hated walking around with no idea which direction was the right one. Dungeons and caverns had a way of toying with his mind, trying to bring out the worst in him. With his experience though, he'd learned to keep his cool.

Link encountered several boulders in the way, no doubt the rockslide Christine mentioned. He was a bit worried that the hammer would be too small, until he used it. Rocks just exploded on impact, cracking like dry dirt. Link got a bit carried away in amazement at the hammer's power, and not only opened the path through, but cleared the entire rockslide.

Some of the supports were cracked and creaking, making Link feel rather unnerved. He decided to make a map so he wouldn't be lost to the darkness forever. When Link came to a crossing, he found a stairwell on one side and a locked door on the other. When he walked down the stairs, he found himself in a dark room, divided by iron bars in the middle. It looked like he was in a prison cell, staring out at the other side of the room. On that side, he saw another hallway, with a couple of different paths. "Is this part of the old station?" Link wondered. Unfortunately, he didn't see any key to open the locked door up above, nor did he find a door of any sort on the iron bars. it would appear they were meant to rise or fall as a whole. Frustrated, Link walked back up the stairs, but never found that key up there.

Link was now quite angry, as none of the paths he had taken solved each other. One was asking for a key, which the other didn't have, or might have had, if it wasn't for a great set of iron bars blocking the way. Link walked up and down the stairwell several times, thinking he overlooked something. He started screaming and shaking the iron bars in anger, and then picked up his hammer and threw it at the back wall of the barred area.

The wall fell down on impact, causing Link to almost jump out of his skin. Still, there was a small room in the back with two chests. One held a few rupees, and the other held what Link desired the most: a key. At long last, a key! Oh thank heavens, a key!! Link was so excited, he ran right up the stairwell and straight to the door.

On the other side of that door was a small hallway like the one he saw before. Most of the rooms in this hallway held nothing of interest to Link, so he continued down to another stairwell. He was now on the same floor as the room with the bars, but was quite disappointed to find that access to that room was locked on this floor.

After some minor backtracking, Link located the room's key and entered it. After hitting a switch on the wall, the bars came up. He would now have easy access back up to the tunnels. Next to the switch was a board nailed over the wall. Link smashed the board open with his hammer and found a doorway with an elevator. "They must have been trying to keep something down there", Link said.

He took the elevator down to find the old station's subterra. The "old tunnels" above were once part of a building aboveground. This area was an underground dock for boats and vessels. This however, wasn't Link's first observation when he looked into the tunnel floor: it was the glowing river in the tunnel. Link would have to find a way across that lava, but didn't know how, so he explored the room in the tunnel lobby. It was some sort of service crane. He turned it on and an automated crane came sliding down the tunnel from the ceiling.

Link smiled and reached for his friend from the crypt. "Maybe you can help me get across." He fired at the crane and quickly pulled himself up to it until he could grab the crane hook with one hand. Then, hanging on for dear life rode the crane down the tunnel of lava. At the other end of the ride, Link reached a heavy steel door. "DO NOT OPEN THIS DOOR!" Link did open the door. A gigantic manhandla paced about inside.

Link instinctively reached for a bomb, but forgot he used them all destroying the fortress. Instead, he decided to change his strategy a little. On the ceiling was another hook like before. Link fired his hookshot at it and pulled himself up to where the manhandla couldn't see him. When the confused manhandla wondered directly under Link again, Link let go of the crane and came down, hammerhead first.

Link missed, though. What he hoped to hit was the central core of the plant, and instead hit one of the heads. The creature was angrier now and moving quite fast. Link fired his hookshot again at the crane and pulled himself up, now having to time his fall much more accurately to hit the fast moving creature. Still, when he was sure of it, he dropped down, again hammerhead first.

His attack nailed the manhandla directly in the center, nearly killing it as it was. To finish the job on the dazed plant, Link stabbed the core with his sword. The crane up above descended, revealing a platform on top of it. When it came to the floor, sitting on top of it was the Triforce of Power.


	8. Chapter 7: the deep secret of the woods

Even Calatia has some deep dark corners, even if they aren't exactly ancient. Twenty years ago though, something much worse happened to their neighbor, Hyrule.

Chapter 7: The Deep Secret of the Woods

In the Three-eye rock area, things were about to get worse. Today, Ganondorf called Kasuto into the room...

"Kasuto", he called.

"Yes, sire?" she replied?

"The old King hid something which I believe now belongs to me..."

Kasuto seemed to know what he was talking about...

"Where would he have hidden it?"

Kasuto responded as honestly as she could.

"I... I... I don't know, sire."

This made him very angry. After much shouting, King Ganondorf exited the throne room of three eye rock temple and announced the unthinkable:

The execution of Kasuto.

The old King Ganondorf did not tell anyone where he hid the Triforce of Power. He left only one clue, and only a small number knew of it.

The day Kasuto died, the new Ganondorf confirmed what many had been thinking of him all along. "Bow before the king," he announced, standing over her body...

..."Bow before the king of evil, Ganon."

The Gerudo became outraged and now convinced they had to protect the Triforce. They waged to do everything in their power to keep Ganon from finding it...

...He killed everyone who got in his way. Thus, the Gerudo Genocide began. He charged into Kasuto town, killing everyone and everything in a mad quest to find the Triforce of Power.

His mad quest led him into the basement of one building, where he found a gorgeous woman in thin, revealing clothes, sitting down and meditating. She opened her eyes and smiled at Ganondorf. "Hello, my King", she smiled. "You are looking for your Triforce? Allow me to help you, my King." Ganon had seen his share of beautiful Gerudo over periods of thousands of years, but never a woman like this. He liked her, and she wasn't getting in his way: she was helping him. She was obsessed with him.

"My name is Nairobi. My sister was Kasuto. She was a fool who deserved her death, but she kept a special amulet, which can tell where the Triforce of Power is hidden. If you return to her body and take it, I will help you claim your prize."

Ganon smiled and left. He returned later with a small crucifix around his neck. "This crucifix allows you to see things which otherwise are invisible. It was Kasuto's most prized possession. It will lead you to the Triforce of Power."

After the Gerudo Genocide, the Triforce disappeared from its hiding spot. After that, Ganon and Nairobi also disappeared, for many years.

"Would anyone like to guess what happened?", the teacher spoke. One kid quickly raised his hand.

"Yes?"

The kid started giggling in anticipation, then finally blurted it out. "They, like... did it with each other. huhuhuhuh... "

The entire classroom burst out in laughter, including Link. Though the humor was on a middle school level of immaturity, the kid probably wasn't far off from the truth, which is why Link laughed. Unfortunately, that wasn't the answer the teacher was looking for.

"Would anyone ELSE like to answer?"

a girl in the back raised her hand.

"Yes?"

She quietly answered. "Ten years later..."

...Ten years later was when it all happened.

Ganon was back.

He looked quite different than he used to. The Triforce of Power twisted and mutated his physical appearance. His skin turned blue, his muscular mass doubled, and most notably, he now had the face of a wild pig: what his heart reflected. Indeed, the glutton was not satisfied any longer with just the Triforce of Power. He needed the Triforce of Wisdom as well. With just the two, he could completely dominate Hyrule.

Princess Zelda, now orphaned by a horrible accident and placed under the care of Impa, devised a cunning attempt to hide the Triforce of Wisdom from Ganon: she would split it apart into eight shards, hiding them in eight dungeons in Hyrule. Unfortunately, there were very few places like this actually in Hyrule, save for what was left behind in the Death Mountain Area, and the six temples of the sages, which were forbidden from use as safehouses. Zelda had no choice but to send all the fragments to the same general location in Hyrule: Death Mountain Area.

Ganon did not take lightly to the added difficulty. Zelda was promptly captured, and Impa was nowhere to be found. With King Ganondorf murdered, the Gerudo slaughtered, and now Ganon close to his greatest desires, Hyrule was now actively experiencing a kind of nightmare it hadn't seen for ages.

The bell rang for dismissal, and for once the kids seemed a bit dissapointed: They had almost gotten to the best part. Link payed no mind, and smiled as the kids left. One little kid stopped in front of Link.

"I can't wait till tomorrow!"

Link turned his attention to the teacher. He wasn't sure about the Triforce of Wisdom, but could at least inquire about any necessary items. "So, anything new happening?"

The teacher looked at Link. "Well, the weather up on Snowtip Mountain has cleared up following that huge explosion... ...now though, everything is... well... alright."

Link seemed a bit upset. Although things in Calatia were about normal again, his job was far from over. "Hmm..."

"Why? Is something wrong?"

Link looked at her a minute. "Nothing. Don't worry about it." Link still had Doc to turn to. Maybe he could help.

"Doc?" Link called from inside Doc's garage. There was no response. Link stepped out into the back of the building and saw Doc with a smoking boomerang.

"Oh there you are, Link! Come over here and throw this right for me!" Doc didn't quite know how to throw it.

Link lifted the obtuse angle and hurled it with all his might into the air. The red boomerang turned into a spinning black cloud of smoke, flew 15 feet, and returned to Link. "Wow! Looks like you almost have it, Doc!"

The inventor shook his head. "Unfortunately not. I need to create a ruby core to ignite the boomerang, but I don't know what pressure or density. Someone a long time ago had perfected it, but he left his notes in the ruins to the west. I wish I was your age, Link, but even if I was, it wouldn't make a bit of difference."

Link nodded. "The woods cannot be navigated."

Doc corrected him. "They have been, Link. Someone in this village did it, but I don't know whom. That kind of search could take a long time."

Link didn't know much about the last Triforce, but he did know those ruins were one of the few places he hadn't yet explored. Besides, he'd been itching to play with that burning boomerang.

Link asked just about every person in town, they all told the same stories about getting lost or confused or downright irritated. Link himself was a bit irritated, and didn't seem to notice a little kid following him around.

Link walked back to the schoolhouse to see if the teacher knew: after all, the building was right on the west edge. Unfortunately, she had already left and locked the schoolhouse. Link sat there for a minute pondering, when the kid finally caught up with him.

"Mr. Link! Mr. Link!" the kid called to him. Link turned his head and acknowledged the boy. "Yes?"

"Whatcha doin, guy? Are you going into the woods?"

Link sighed. "Not much point. I don't know how to navigate them."

The kid jumped up and down "ooh! Ooh! My friend does!"

Link smiled, "Oh really?"

"Yeah! Yeah! Go north a bit! At the foot of the Death Mountain track!"

Link went to the foot of west Death Mountain to find a couple kids playing around the train tracks. Of course, it was an active track, and the kids in danger, but such is typical of boys their age. Link paid no mind to the antics and asked if anyone knew the path. Unfortunately, nobody did, but they referred Link to someone that did.

"I know someone that knows! He's in town to the south, though. Probably at the picture show."

Link was now more than a bit irritated, being led around everywhere. He walked back to the theater and found a small group of kids. He asked again about the path, and got a similar response.

"Yeah, the guy that's usually with us is over west, at the schoolhouse! He started following you around. Didn't you see him?"

"What!? I already asked him!"

The kids shrugged, and insisted he knew.

Link angrily returned to the schoolhouse to find the kid waiting there for him. "Alright, you. Do you know the way or not?"

"Alright, alright! The kid who knows is just west of here, in the woods! Sorry!"

Link stared at the kid for a minute. "Are you sure?" The boy nodded and an angry Link ventured into the woods.

Of course, Link didn't find his answer there, but he didn't find any kids either. "Annoying kids... where is the one that knows?! I've been led up north, then back south, then west to the school, then west aga..."

Link stared blankly for a minute, as he realized what the kids were really telling him.

Link followed the directions through the woods, and sure enough, ended up somewhere besides where he started. It was a small hilly area, with several statues and carvings in the rock. Certainly, Link was close to this scientist's notes.

At one point, Link found a fork in the road. One path led south, towards the inner ruins, and the other led north, up a hill and into more forest. Link wanted to go south towards the inner ruins, but something was calling him... He couldn't understand it, but something desperately wanted him to come to the forest... something or someone good, wanting Link to visit them... or it...

Link shrugged and started up the hill. He entered a forest of beautiful white leaves and pettles, spots of sun shining through the treetops. There was a hill in front of him, and a passage up the hill to the east. Link kept hearing something call to him as he traveled through the forest, something warm and familiar, but he'd never been here before in his life.

Link finally made it to the top of the hill, and couldn't believe his eyes. There was a shrine. Stone slabs made up the floor, and stone pillars surrounded it. "This is an interesting place," said Link. "I'll bet nobody alive even knows about it."

So Link stopped to take a look at everything in general. Five stone benches surrounded the spot, and a beam of sunlight poured into the center, illuminating a pedestal with an odd sculpture on it. Link investigated to find that the sculpture was covered in weeds and vine, with several unusually sharp thorns sticking out. "There's no way I could pull those vines off without..."

Link didn't have to. The Triforce crest on his hand began glowing a bright bright white, and his palm started throbbing, something Link had never seen before in his life. He became so frightened, he fell on his back.

"Wh... Wh... What's going on!?" Link said, quite confused at the strange excitement in his hand. Then he looked at the sculpture. The vines were shriveling up, thorns falling off and decaying almost instantly. Link started to get a good look at the sculpture hidden underneath the vines...

...Then, Link saw that the vines were not hiding a sculpture. They were hiding a sword. It was beautiful, a red hilt with ends pointed straight up, and a thin handle. The Blade looked a bit used, certainly not reflective anymore, but still a metallic looking silver. "Why would anyone leave such a nice looking sword here?", Link asked. As soon as he asked, all the power and pulsation in his crest hand fused and became one with the sword. It was as if Link had known this blade all his life. "Have I used you before? Certainly not. But you seem to know me."

Link would have looked silly if someone saw him talking to this old crimson hilted sword, but there was something special about it to Link. "Hmm, I wonder if you are the legendary Ma..." Link stopped himself, knowing that whatever he was thinking, wasn't. "Hmm, but is it any better than my Magic Sword?" Link, with little physical effort whatsoever, fired a beam from the sword that cracked a stone pillar. His Magic sword definitely never put out that kind of power.

Link's Magic Sword was indeed a powerful weapon. It had a blue hilt, much like the Master Sword, but the ends formed spiky stars with yellow jewels in the middle, and a red frame around the handle. The blade also spiked out at the tip. It was a rather unique looking sword, which Link found in a crypt during his first adventure.

Until today, Link and pretty much everyone in Hyrule was convinced that the Magic Sword was the best sword in existence, aside from the fabled Master Sword, a blade Link often heard rumors of and wondered if he too would ever touch. After this, Link wasn't sure if he would ever find himself worthy of a blade that might not even exist anymore, but he did know this:

He was now wielding a close second.

Link left his Magic sword at the shrine, turned around, and walked down the hill.


	9. Chapter 8: Men of Science

_oohhh... There's something special about that sword... Though it is a bit smaller than the Magical Sword was, to be honest. Still, pretty potent. _

_No backstory for this chapter, but it's a short chapter. Bear with._

Link emerged from the small hilltop forest with the new sword in his hand. He wasn't really good at naming things, but this was a nice sword, so that's exactly what Link dubbed it: Nice Sword. That makes the Wooden Sword, the White Sword, the Magic Sword, and now the Nice Sword. Link applauded at his naming genius as he entered the inner ruins.

Vegetation had grown over most of the stonework outside, but the inside looked almost perfectly preserved. Hostile creatures again had taken up residence, hissing or growling at Link's intrusion, but he payed no mind to what couldn't kill him. All he had to do was find a sheet of paper and leave.

When Link came to a set of stairs headed down, he couldn't quite see the bottom, it was so dark. Oddly enough, though the bottom was dark, it was quite easy to see. small spots of sun would still shine through trees and pillars up above, but not everywhere. Many of the hallways Link found required use of his candle. Thankfully, no Zols were there to gross him out. Several keese stood in the way though. It was afterall a great habitat for them. They were one of very few creatures Link could actually kill with a boomerang. Of course, Link didn't have a boomerang. In fact, the whole trip here was so he could eventually get one.

Link found a beam of light and a small ladder at the end of one hallway. He climbed the ladder and found himself back outside, in some closed off area, forgotten by time. There was another entrance here, and Link stepped inside.

Link followed another hallway in the dark, and found a rusty door. He kicked it down, unsure of just where he was now, but determined as always. He found himself navigating a narrow maze lit by only a few torches. At the end, Link found another room. There, on a wall, standing out from the rest of the room, was a piece of paper. Link had found the notes.

Link carefully read the notes over:

"When the decisive hour is near,

Two brothers will be born

one of light

one of dark.

The child of light will save the world from its own greed

but his brother must be found and stopped before he becomes too powerful.

That is the prophecy."

"WHAT?" Link shouted, and threw the trash away. "sigh... it's gonna be a long day."

Link walked back through the maze and back into the hallways... he took the opposite path, kicking down another door. Link entered an expansive area. It looked like the inside of a palace, or mansion... "I hope this isn't another dead end".

Link solved a rather simple puzzle in the foyer and a passage to the basement revealed itself. When Link came into a laboratory, filled with bottles on walls, odd equipment, a bed, and other assorted items out of a Frankenstein movie, he smiled. On the shelf, he found a letter. He didn't care much for the complicated algebraic expressions or the confusing diagrams, but he did understand one thing: the title.

"Formula for the artificial creation of the magic ruby"

Link took a minute to read over some of the parting notes of the scientist. He predicted he would not live to see his work go recognized, and prayed someone would find these notes and put them in safe and capable hands. Link nodded, and promised the scientist that his work would be carried on.


	10. Chapter 9: The Triforce of Wisdom

Chapter 9: The Triforce of Wisdom

"hominawhaaa??", Doc said when Link came back with the notes. Doc quickly read them over.

"hmmm... ...yes, yes, I can definetely do this.", Doc smiled. "Link, why don't you come back sometime tomorrow afternoon? The sun is about to set anyways, and you've been up and about so much. Everything is ok in Calatia now, after all."

Link still didn't know where the Triforce of Wisdom was hidden, but was now feeling rather good. The sun was setting on the town, and the weather was quite warm. Link took some time off to enjoy the sights and catch up with Christine.

He found her at the picture show, treating the kids to a movie. Link decided to join them. When he and Christine were alone, they started talking.

"Hey, uh, Link..."

"yeah?"

"Do you... have a girlfriend?"

Link was a bit shocked at the question. Christine noticed this and quickly apologized. Link straightened himself and responded, "Well... ...yes, I do."

Link hadn't thought much about it during his trip, but he did indeed have a girlfriend already, whom he cared deeply for: Princess Zelda herself. Two years ago, Link met a sleeping beauty that he instantly fell for. He could recall almost perfectly what he said to Impa when he saw her face.

"I...Impa... ...who is that girl?!"

Impa smiled for a moment, then solemned herself to tell Link her tragic tale. Link looked on with a feeling of love and pity upon hearing of the creature's legend. When Link returned later with the Triforce of Courage, he walked into the old room in the North Castle, where a maiden had slept for the past 300 years, soundly in her bed. He put his heart and soul into waking her up from her subconscious prison.

"hmm... Edward... is that you?" Zelda Alice Hyrule spoke upon waking up. Link remained silent, partially in awe, and partially because he didn't know how to tell her how long she was out.

She looked over at Link. "You aren't Edward! Who are you?"

Link spoke. "ermm... I am Error."

Zelda looked perplexed. "Error?"

Link corrected himself "I...I mean, I'm Link."

Zelda asked him "Link, have you seen Prince Edward? I think I had an argument with him. I don't remember much, but I want to apologize..."

Link looked down. "Z...Zelda... you've been asleep for over 300 years."

Zelda looked around, then back at Link. Tears were forming in her eyes. "I... I never got to apologize to him... I never got to say goodbye."

Link smiled. "I'm sure he understands, Zelda. Besides, you have descendants in this castle that will look after you."

Zelda held on to Link for support, not wanting to be alone in this huge castle. Link took her to meet Impa and Queen Zelda. Impa became a grandmother to Zelda, the Queen an adoptive "big sister". Both Zeldas were glad to no longer feel so lonely in this big old castle. "And I'll look after you too," Link smiled.

He and Princess Zelda shared another embrace, and Link suddenly snapped back to the present. It was night out now, and he just told Christine the entire story without thinking about it. "Oh, Christine! I'm sorry. I sort of rambled off there..." He then looked at her, feeling like he just deeply hurt her by telling her this.

To his suprise, Christine smiled and hugged him. "Link... I'm glad you have someone. I care a lot about you, you know. When you left the orphanage, I wasn't worried about your safety: I was worried you'd be alone out there. You'd grow up a wandering loner. Now though, I see you have the best family an orphan could ask for."

Link frowned. "It's still not nice of me to talk about all this right in front of you".

Christine laughed. "Link, you don't need to worry about me. Right now, what makes me happier than anything is just knowing that you're alright. They take good care of you, don't take that for granted."

Christine then looked up. "Oh my! I suppose we should take these kids home, hmm?"

The next day, Link returned to the schoolhouse. The kids were of course still groggy no thanks to Link's ramblings last night, but they didn't care. They were too excited to be really tired. Link and Christine were both in attendance today.

"Who would like to tell me where we left off yesterday?" the teacher asked. One boy raised his hand.

"Yes, Jason?"

"Ganon came back, and Zelda split the Triforce, but then he captured her."

"Thank you, Jason. ahem, picking up where we left off, Impa had run away. She fled across mountains and fields to find help, but she was ambushed by moblins. Just when it seemed there was nothing she could do...

...why, that nice young man in the corner over there stepped out and lured them away." the Teacher pointed to Link, and he became a little nervous to all the attention.

"Link, would you like to tell the class what happened next?"

Link knew he'd have to, for the kids, so he walked to the front of the classroom and spoke before the small captive audience.

"Well, I really wasn't much older than any of you guys when I saved her... It was a few months after my ninth birthday, and..."

"Link", the teacher spoke, "Don't give them any ideas."

Link nodded and cleared his throat. "yes, anyways... I wasn't much braver either, but I knew enough to keep going, no matter how I felt about it. Besides, can you imagine what would have happened if I just stayed away from the dark dungeons and hid where it's safe? Hyrule might not exist anymore! Kids, if there's anything you should learn from me, it's just that. A lot of people think I was some brave, hardheaded brat, and I wasn't. I was just as scared as any of you would have been. Real courage has nothing to do with bravery. It's just a matter of will. I wanted Triforce Fragments, and in order to get them, I had to go into deep dark places. So, I went into deep dark places to get Triforce Fragments. I thought to myself, "What if I get lost in the dark, and can't find my way out? What if something eats me? What if Ganon himself finds out and catches me? What's he gonna do to me?" All those things were going through my mind, but see, Courage is when you ignore all those things and concentrate exactly on your goals, because you know that's what really matters."

Link was by no means a speaker, but somehow as he stood there speaking to these influential children, he rang out as a strong and shining example, not only for them, but for everyone in this world. It doesn't take much to make a difference, just an iron will, a few brains, and a little force. Link's continuing story of how he defeated Ganon wove past as relatively unimportant compared to what he had said before, but all the kids were fixed on the privelege of him being in Calatia as they go into the chapter of history he so well wrote.

When the bell rang, the kids actually seemed a little dissapointed that it was all over. Link, as usual, stayed a little bit with the Teacher.

"Link, I wanna thank you for being a role model to these kids the last few days... and especially for your words today... If there's anything you want or need, I'd be glad to help you with it."

Link had to find out now what was up with the last Triforce, and leaned in closely to the Teacher. "Listen... There is another reason I'm here..."

the Teacher stopped him when her expression suddenly became very serious. "Don't say it. I think I know why you are here..."

Link blinked. "You do?"

The Teacher opened her drawer. "I think I might have something of yours... ...I sense it's why you're here, and I suppose I was trying to protect it by keeping it hidden... I'm sorry I didn't tell you about it before, but I figured if you wanted it, you would ask."

She closed the drawer and revealed from behind the desk the item Link was looking for. As she gave it to him, she gave him a laugh.

"Truly though, in a building of wisdom, this Triforce was at home."

Link held the three Triforces in the palm of his hand. They were by no means large artifacts. In fact, they could all be worn as pendants.

_Link held the now completed Triforce up high over his head to let the sun shine down upon them, in their beautiful golden glory. Together, they were truly a miraculous sight. Yet, despite the fact that his return to Hyrule would be an easy one, little did he know..._

Deep atop snowtip, a fortress lay in ruins. The heroic culprit long gone, and no sign of survivors...

...except for one. One very angry, cold, scantily clad woman. She opened the palm of her hand. In it was a vial of blood...

...her maniacal laugh echoed across the mountains.

_...Link's quest was only halfway over._


	11. Chapter 10: home?

_Hyrule's backstory has come to a close. Everything that happened next up to now happens in the games. All that's left is Link's mystery. And a simple objective in a small Hyrulian province._

"Leaving already?!", Doc exclaimed. He seemed excited to have Link be his first user of the fire boomerang, but already, Link had to get ready to board the train back to Hyrule.

"Well, not just yet", Link told him. "So, is the fire boomerang ready?"

Doc nodded "I haven't done the final tests, so I'm not entirely sure. Why don't you give it a toss, Link?"

Link once again lifted the angle and threw it with all his might. Much to his amazed eyes, it turned into a blazing swirl of energy, a trail of flames following it. When it returned to his hand, the flames were gone and the boomerang was cool to the touch.

"That... That was amazing!" Link said. "Good," Doc spoke, "Because I'm giving the prototype to you!"

Link smiled. "Doc, thank you very much. I'll use it often! This is probably one of the best weapons I've ever had!"

Link and Doc shared some final goodbyes, then Link left for the station. When he got there, the whole town was seeing him off.

Link never felt such warmth from people he actually knew, and happily returned the favor. Soon, the train was moving, and a finger tapped him. "Sir, may I see your ticket?" It was Christine.

"Well," Christine continued, "It was nice having you back in Calatia, Link. Now though, I suppose you miss Zelda? She sounds like a nice person..."

Link nodded. "I really... wasn't sure how long I would be away from Hyrule," Link told her. "It's for the best that I return now."

"Understood," Christine told him. "However... can you visit Calatia more often now?"

Link giggled and nodded. "Of course."

The train entered a tunnel, now inside of Death Mountain... Link would soon be home.

"Link, I hope you'll think of-EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE"

The train stopped suddenly and with a loud screech, launching everyone forward.

"Link? Where are you? What happened?"

Link lit his candle, bringing some light to the inky confines of the car. "I dunno... where are you?"

Christine got up. "I don't know... Ladies and Gentlemen, please remain calm. I'm going to find out what happened."

As soon as Christine said this, the conductor came walking in. "Christine," the young man said, "We have a problem."

The train was being hijacked.

"Wait here", Link told Christine. He slowly crawled toward the back of the train until he found the trap door. Every train is build with a trap door, usually buried under the carpet and bolted in place. Link used his sword to saw a square out of the carpet, then fired a beam at the panel to loosen it. He pushed it open, and snuck out of the train.

Link looked around the back of the train and saw a roadblock of goriyas and moblins patrolling it. "Gotta keep the passengers safe first", Link nodded. Link pulled out his new boomerang and threw it at a moblin. It struck the moblin, shredding its arm off and causing the bewildered bulldog to burst into flames.

"So, what does da boss want now?" one goriya squeaked.

"Shhh!! Link's aboarded the train!" another squeaked. "Yeah, and he's on it too!"

"quiet, cheesebrain! Link has the Triforce, just what boss needs! The whole thing!"

"buuut... I thought that wasn't gonna work!"

"Don't question her! Just make sure nobody gets off that tr...WHAT THE..."

The goriya was cut off midsentence when a crazy flaming moblin with one arm came running towards him. In the sheer awe and confusion, the moblin knocked all three of them down, setting everyone on fire. In turn, they all ran off together, as far as they could until they were thanksgiving dinner.

Link traveled down the tunnel on foot, finding that many of the patrolling enemies were now as giant roast turkeys. "I know it didn't take out the whole area", Link whispered, and he continued, silent as ever. "This has to be Nairobi", Link thought to himself. "After all, me and the Triforce are both in one spot altogether now. Still, I can't go and leave it somewhere for now. I'll have to be very careful."

Link was now deep in the caverns of Death Mountain. Treacherous jumps over Lava, incompetant beasts on patrol, and one menace in green with a nasty boomerang. Fun fun fun, as far as Link was concerned.

Enemies on opposite sides of the cavern rained spears and boomerangs down at Link, but he countered with his shield, and returned fire with a fire boomerang. Enemies fell into boiling seas, and Link returned to the train. It was safe for them to move on now, but Link would stop them again to clear out more.

The train finally came back outside in a clearing of Death Mountain. A small town called Whistlestop. Here, people got a chance to hide out from the recent attack if they so desired, or just rest and stock up, as Link was doing. Link bought a few more bombs, some food, and took Christine shopping. Again.

"Thanks again, Link", Christine told him. "I guess it's a good thing you were on that train."

Link nodded. "I suppose they're just an angry faction. After all, ever since I..."

Christine continued for him. "Ever since you killed... the thief... Monsters have been rampant all over Hyrule." Link nodded, "Exactly."

It should be clear at this point that Whistlestop was located on a hill in southwest Hyrule, at the foot of Death Mountain. Just north, on the other side of the mountain range, was a small valley, where Link's first adventure took place. Link's destination was the bustling city of portside, where Zelda would be waiting for him. This spot was only a few miles away now.

Before the train was cleared to continue, Link walked ahead on foot to find and clear the road. At one point, he found a huge roadblock, with lots of clear track ahead. Link returned to the train and told them to charge ahead, full speed. The block was obliterated by the sheer power of the locomotive, and Link kept walking ahead.

"What?! They got through the roadblock?" Nairobi screamed. "Hmm, he really is slippery. I see now why Ganon affectionately called him "little worm". Not to worry though: I'll deal with him myself."

As Link reached a darker area, a shadow cleaved his shoulder. When Link grabbed at his arm in pain, he found that no blood was coming from the wound. "huh?"

"Yes, yes, more blood will do nicely," Nairobi smiled.

"You again", Link sneered. "Have a bad day?"

Nairobi said nothing more, engaging in combat with Link. She possessed powerful sorcery, intent on nothing more than grabbing more blood and the Triforce. Link, however, was just as determined to walk out with the Triforce.

The battle ended with Link simply winning and Nairobi running away. There was no bizarre weakness for Link to exploit, no fancy technique of items for Link to use, though the fire boomerang didn't really have much effect anyways. "I'll be back!"

"I'd run along now," Link called out, with a smile. "There's a train comin' through!"


	12. Chapter 11: Link stays

Chapter 11: A Branch of Destiny

The train arrived safely in Portside. Link was away at a restaurant with Christine.

"Well, I guess this is it", Christine sighed. Link smiled and reassured her, he'd be back. Christine however, had to leave soon. The train was headed back. Link would stay behind in Portside until Princess Zelda arrived. Then, his quest would be over.

That night, Link had another dream, but unlike anything he had ever witnessed before. He was in a field of blue skies and warm sun, but the grass... the trees... everything on the ground was white. An eerie white. There was a headstone in the center, shaped like Ganon. As Link touched the statue, a voice rang out.

"You little worm! Did you really think you had defeated me?!"

The statue came to life, and once again Link was battling Ganon.

"You aren't real," Link told him. "You're dead, and I killed you."

"If I'm dead, why are my monsters attacking Hyrule?" Ganon spoke back. "Admit it, Link: My influence is like a religion. You can kill me, but the influence will stay. Even you have sensed me haunting the land. And now, I haunt your dreams."

Link shot back at Ganon. "What do you want? You must have a reason for doing all this, hog."

Ganon laughed his loud obnoxious laugh again, and ended with an abrupt oink. "You're looking for someone, and I can help you. Yes, I, the great Ganon, can help YOU, the great hero, find who you are looking for."

Link shook his head. "Nice try."

Ganon's expression suddenly turned serious. "I'm not here to fight you, worm. I'm here to give you a pointer. The Gerudo temple southwest of here "

Link shouted again. "Why?! Why do you care whether I get my answers or not? What do you gain from it?"

Ganon smiled and stared at Link for awhile. Link stood, feeling a bit awkward. Then finally, Ganon moved his lips.

"Satisfaction."

Just like that, Link woke up. Ganon was still dead, Link was still in portside inn. Zelda would be arriving in an hour though, and Link needed to get ready.

An hour later, at the main city hall of portside, Link stood before a pretty princess. Princess Zelda wasn't quite like the Queen. She was a wild, redheaded tomboy, who opted to wear boots, a purple shirt, and blue vest, over the typical dress, or even skirt.

"LIIII-IIINK!! WHERE ARE YOOOUUU?" Zelda called out playfully. Link ran outside and scooped her up in his arms. "I missed you!"

Zelda smiled. "Queen Zelda is waiting for us back at the North Castle. Come on, let's board the ship to Mido!"

Link hesitated for a minute. It wasn't particularly necessary for him to go back yet, and his message from Ganon, despite how retarded it may seem to follow, was the best he had, and it kept ringing in his head.

"Zelda, I was thinking..."


	13. Chapter 12: Sweet Irony

"Yes, Link? What is it?" Zelda asked.

Link thought it over. "Zelda... There are some things... I have to do."

"What do you mean?"

"Well... personal stuff. It shouldn't take more than a week."

Zelda stared at Link and raised a finger. "You know... ...Queen Zelda won't like this."

"Why?" Link asked. "She asked me to return to Hyrule with the Triforce, and I did. It's a personal thing... answers."

"Tell me everything," Zelda said.

"Well... alright promise me you won't call me an idiot or crazy or anything... ...when I lived in Calatia, someone else was in my family. I think I have a brother somewhere in hiding."

Zelda nodded. "I see..."

"That's not all," Link noted. "I think I'm on my way to solving the mystery of who killed them."

"Do you think your "brother" did it?" Zelda asked.

Link shook his head. "I considered that. But he was nowhere around when they were murdered. My "Brother" had really long blond hair. If the killer was him, the memory would have stuck out like a sore thumb. Zelda... take the Triforce back to Queen Zelda. I'll stay here."

"No way", Zelda told him. "If you're staying, I am too!"

Link shook his head. "No way. I still have bounty hunters looking for me. Nairobi is leading them!"

"I don't care! Link, I'll wait in portside. Anytime you need to see me, just blow this whistle."

It was the magic whistle Link collected as a kid. One toot could bring him back to Portside at any time. Link thanked Zelda and left for the desert to the southwest.

This particular section of Hyrule was located directly to the east of Calatia and directly south of the overworld from Link's first adventure. To the far east, one found Portside. To the south of portside was a rather large forest. The land here was split down the middle by a protrusion from Death Mountain, and the ocean continued throughout the south half. To the west was the lake that crossed into Northeast Calatia and a large desert on a plateau to the south. Also, a small island sat in the ocean, with no identifiable means of access.

Link walked around the mountain and crossed a bridge till he was next to the high plateau of the desert. Nobody had seen the dries for several centuries besides the now all but extinct Gerudo. Link was a bit excited. Soon, he would be at the Gerudo temple, where he might just find answers. Much to his dissapointment, the road stopped short. There was but one bridge over these deep dark gorges, and after that, only birds or good jumpers could cross. "No problem," Link thought at first, but the other side had nothing for a hookshot to fire at. Needless to say, Link needed something new. He summoned a tornado to take him back to Portside.

"No luck, huh Linky?" Zelda asked. Link shook his head.

Zelda took hold of the Triforce of Wisdom and concentrated. "Maybe I can help."

After several minutes with Link, Zelda came to a conclusion. "There's something in the forest south of here. I don't know what it is, but I suggest you look there before attempting the gorge again."

More unfamiliar territory to Link. Just south of town a bit was a small pass in the mountainous area to a deep forest. Link didn't expect much at first glance, but when he entered the woods, he was met with more of the glorious surroundings from the woods north of the ruins. Sunlit, white trees amongst a dense grassy floor. He sat down for a minute to think things over...

First, there was himself. Link tended to pick away at things with little regard for possible consequences. He wouldn't care what got in the way as long as he had a decent cause. On this quest, he had no real cause. Nobody else in mind but himself really. To top things off, he had literally no tangible evidence to move on. Still, he trusted Zelda's mind, and if she suggests he come here, that's good enough for him.

Then there was Zelda. Link and Zelda fit like bunnies snuggled in a corner. They usually liked to be very close to each other unless it was best to do otherwise. Link found it a bit odd that he hardly thought of her during his trip in Calatia, but now he was already starting to miss her company. He looked at the whistle she gave him, thinking to return as soon as he was done in the woods. But why was he here? The Triforce made it plain as day: Get something here. But why did Link need it? Where was he going? To the Gerudo temple? Well it's nice to explore lost places, but Link is following a dream he had... led by Ganon of all people!

Ganon... Ganon... The strangest piece of the puzzle. Anyone who met the pig form of Ganon and survived would describe him perfectly. A wrinkled face with rough hair, constantly drooling, food falling out of his mouth, as he only cared about consuming more, not swallowing what was in his mouth. Such a horrible sight. He was a hideous, obsessed creature. But he was talking to Link like he was making a bet, or a business deal. Why was Link listening to this? Was he that desperate?

These questions flooded Link's mind as he stepped inside the great wildlife sanctuary.


End file.
